Cycle Southern Africa Cycle

Safro Cycling Competition & Events. Bicycles have been in existence for the past 198 years since they were invented in 18 18 by a German Inventor Baron Karl Von Drais and got to appoint that they were so popular as they came in various forms, shapes, designs and styles. As more and more of us buy cars it is increasingly becoming a reality that bicycle riding is a dwindling tradition. Countries like China have abandoned such traditions due to industrialization and modernization, while countries like Netherlands have embraced and promoted cycling. My Name is Lopez of Johannesburg, South Africa, currently in Botswana by work. To keep the tradition and spirit of cycling going on, global cycling competition events have been created mainly in Europe. And in Europe these competitions command a huge global audience making it so popular as a sport. When we did our research we realized that this needs to expand beyond Europe and make it a global event because there are so many aficionado cyclists who love such events. We are seeking for well-wishers to assist us with funding of 500,000 Rands Approx. €30,000 Approx. $35,000 to do the preparatory work to embark on cycling tour of Southern African Countries. .

Picture 1 Cycling Is Wonderful

My love for cycling came as a result of watching such cycling events. It then turns out that the number of people who love cycling has been gradually growing and to tap into these cycling fans, I then decided to explore the possibilities of bringing them together and take our combined love for cycling to the next level. I now ride my bicycle to work almost every day and every weekend on Sundays we have social cycling club where we cycle in and around the outskirts of Johannesburg and surroundings. Seeing that I can’t take part in the Cycling Competition and Events that happen in Europe it got me thinking that how about develop a cycling event for our regional countries in Southern Africa. As this passion grows there is so much desire to have cycling events but there is lack of proper organization and hosting of such events to a level that Europeans do it. I recently went to Rwanda, Botswana (where I am temporarily at), Mozambique and Angola I was amazed by the number of casual cyclists who take time to ride bicycles in the name of exercising to keep themselves fit and healthy as opposed to running.

Picture 2 It’s All About The Love For Cycling

Our Intentions. A greater way to make cycling be part and parcel of bicycle lovers is by creating, promoting and developing a cycling event in this Southern Africa. We want to go on an expedition through SADC countries for the purposes of lobbying, raising awareness and promote cycling events within these countries. In this expedition we want to raise money to kick-start Bicycle Sports Tournament in SADC Countries that will be hosted every year and advocate for this to be recognized international just like “Tour De France or Giro De Italia or Vuelta a España, Tour de Suisse, Tour of California, etc. We will ride bicycles within mainland SADC Countries i.e. the 14 of the 17 Southern African Development Community countries i.e. Angola, Botswana, Burundi, DRC, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe to raise the awareness of the competition. We will exclude Madagascar + Mauritius + Seychelles + Comoros as they are Islands and logistical it may cost more money to fly out there and do the expedition. However, they will be included in the actual competition of “The Tour Ya SAFRO”. We chose Southern Africa because it is the only region that is stable and peaceful without any civil wars for quite some time. Our ultimate goal is to have these events done in all the African Countries willing to come on board. We are also aware that bicycles are quite expensive hence a few corporate organizations in SA and around the world have cycling teams that they promote. Therefore, we want to scale up this idea and have more entities involved and perhaps have their teams joining us in each leg of the race for a fee.

Picture 3 The Type Of Sportsmanship We Are Trying To Achieve

The Team Involved. To do this we have enlisted 17 enthusiastic cyclists from each and every SADC Country to participate in this fund raising tour as an incentive to donors anyone is more than welcome to join us on condition they have travelling documents valid passport and have sorted out visas and travelling arrangements with us. We are a team of 17 riders with a backing personnel of 8 staffers. We all have the bikes + my 4 x 4 pickup truck + trailer, but we realized that our 17 bikes are not enough because we anticipate that through the voyage we will be riding through tough & rough terrains which will make the bicycles encounter mechanical and technical problems that are beyond repair. Hence we thought we may need back up bicycles to keep the tour going on in event when bicycles have technical or mechanical problems even though some of our 18 riders have backup bikes. Off course there are unforeseen circumstances that we will encounter along the way and we wanted to be fully prepared both physical and emotional. All in All, Our Team is made up of 25 dedicated & committed members mainly guys that constitute 17 riders + 8 supporting staff which includes Medics, Drivers, Accountant and Camera Men, all of us are good with bicycle mechanic repairs + the drivers chosen are also good motor mechanics and bicycle mechanic.

Picture 4 Trying To Achieve The Above

The Risks Involved. Our biggest risk is that this has never been done before & we ourselves have never done it before hence it will be our first time doing therefore we are embarking in a journey of the unknown. We don’t real know what kind of challenges and problems we will encounter. But we have seriously considered the following difficulties such as Accidents, Hostilities, Thugs/Thieves, Deadly Animal Attacks, Illness/Disease, Bicycle Mechanical/Technical Problems, Permits/Licensees to do such, Critics/Opposers, Unknown Riding Terrains, Securing Cash Funds from Donors etc. Throughout this document we have covered how risks will be overcome. South Africa has CSA i.e. Cycling South Africa www.csa.co.za but other Southern African Countries do not have such bodies responsible for Cycling Events & Calendars. We are in dialogue with CSA seeking advice on spreading cycling sport to other parts of Southern Africa

Picture 5 The Beauty Of Cycling

How The Trip Is Structured. We will be riding through major cities, towns and settlements in all these countries. We have mapped out the sequential route that will commence in Johannesburg and finish in Johannesburg South Africa. It will start in

• South Africa ® Botswana ® Namibia ® Zimbabwe ®Zambia ® Angola ® DRC ® Rwanda ® Burundi ® Tanzania ® Malawi ® Mozambique ® Swaziland ® South Africa ®Lesotho ® South Africa.
• It’s a journey of 26,000km (16,150 Miles) covering 235 Locations which Include 50 Cities + 116 Towns + 69 Settlements.
• We hope to cover between 300Km to 350Km per day, riding at average top speed of 11 meters per second (40 Km/h; 25 Mph) and average low speed of is 5 meters per second (21 Km/h; 13 Mph). Meaning that we will have approximately 95Legs
• It will last 3 Months = 12 Weeks = 90 Days. We will cycle for about 8Hours per day with 2 x 2Hrs interval for rests which Include Pit Stops Donations preferable in CBDs &Garages.
• We will start at 06:00Hrs – 09:00Hrs have Breakfast REST then 11:00Hrs – 13:00Hrs have Lunch REST 15:00 – 18:00Hrs then Mandatory Rest sleep;
• We will divide the distance into legs whereby after each leg of the race have mandatory rest. We are targeting donors that we will meet on the roads from Car Drivers, Truck Drivers, Buses, Passengers in public transport modes, get into Filling Station Garages for donation from motorists filling up fuel, Corporate Entities as well as Online Donors.
• As we ride into these cities and towns anyone willing to join the cause for a fee with their own bicycles are more than welcome to join us and enjoy the ride.
• As we seek funding from well-wishers to kick start this tour and do all the preparatory work, the journey itself will also raise funds to be able to host Southern Africa’s Cycling Tournaments, Competitions and Events on annual basis.
• We are seeking funding to a tune of R500,000»$ 35,000 »€30,000 to get on with the tour but when we actual do the tour we are looking to raise between R8,500,000» $ 575,000 »€500,000 Euros to R16,000,000» $ 1,150,000 »€1,000,000 or more which in turn will be used to organize and host the annual events + prize moneys. It will be a bonus for us if we raise more than our target.
• Should this funding exercise go well, we will have 3 months to engage in the initial vigorous funding phase starting in November 2016 through to end of January 2017, we intend to go on tour beginning of March 2017 and hoping to finish it in end of May 2017.
• The next 6 months i.e. between now and February we will also be busy with other arrangements and administrative stuff that needs to be organized.
• Since it’s not a “Dollar Without A Cent” Each leg of the race we intend to publish the amount we would have raised on our website.
• Should R500,000 not be enough to cover we will use 1% of the funds we will raising to cover the running costs especial fuel.
• As we will use 3 Off Road 4x4 SUVs we will need almost 8000 liters of fuel for the cars that will cost quite a bit.

Picture 6 Above Is The Map Showing The Cycling Route We Will Take. The Stars Indicate The Pit Stops Where We Will Be Resting After A Days' Worth Of Riding

Other Ways We Will Raise Money On Tour. As already indicated we will raise more money from spectators, drivers and well-wishers. However, there are other ways to raise funds which include the following;

• Apparel sales – Sale apparel
• Corporate Entities – Kindly request Corporate donors to donate funds.
• Filling Stations Garage funding – Request from motorist putting fuel in garages.
• Lunch & Diner Fees – People who want to host us for lunches and dinners will do so at a price.
• Online Donors – Well-Wishers willing to donate for the cause via internet especial donors from abroad.
• Rewards – Others donors might require incentives in form of rewards for the donations they will be contributing.
• Leg Ads Sponsors – certain entities might want to sponsor a leg we will bill them for advertising that particular leg.
• Speech Fees – Through presentations at Conferences, Workshops, Conventions & Forums as we will charge speech fees.
• Memorabilia Sales & Autographs – make 200,000 memorabilia items that include Caps, T-Shirts, Drinking Bottles, Key Holders, Pencils & Hats. then Charge for autographs and selfies
• Interested Cycling Participants – Some will be interested in tagging alone as we pass through their cities or towns hence we will request registration fee for them to tag alone.If all is well and done i.e. if everything goes according to plan. We plan to do this in the 2^nd Quarter of 2017.With the actual first ever event scheduled for late 2017 or 1^st Quarter of 2018.Mother nature may sometimes not read our plans as we intend them to be hence we are currently busy working on contingent plans to ensure that this becomes a success. Everyone above 18 Years is welcomed to join in the ride and cycle for a cause. Terms and conditions apply.

Picture 7 The Way Want To Practice

Why We Doing it? The reason why we want to go on this mission is not only to raise funds, raise awareness or promote cycling sport tournaments or doing it for the fun of the expedition. But we are also doing it to

• Show How healthy and fun it is to cycle.
• Introduce New Bicycles, Cycling trends, Technology and Designs.
• Keeping fit and above all promote the daily use of commuting using bicycles.
• Educate, inspire those who might be interested in cycling, reach out and popularize cycling.
• Showcase the advantages and benefits of riding as well as promote the culture, tradition, spirit and for the continuity of cycling.
• There are various types of bicycles and we would love to have others parade their type of bicycles they love by cycling with us.
• Donate 50% of all the funds raised to be donated to various NGO’s, Medical RnDs as well as education bursaries, to help these organizations that heavily rely on funding to cover their day to day costs as we feel they do what they do for a good cause.

With our extensive research we are aware that there are already cycling events taking place within SADC Countries e.g. Joburg 94.7 cycling, Cape Argus Tour, Rwanda Tour.Our main goal is to scale up the consciousness of such events to a regional and global stage plus introduce new events within these countries. To do this we need to raise money to do the tour that we will in turn also use to raise money to organize and host bigger annual cycling sporting events.

How Much We Need To Prepare? Though this is a substantial amount of money contributors can also assist with advise and any equipment or material they see fit to make this a huge success. The money we are looking for from well-wishers and well-givers is R500,000 »$ 35,000 »€30,000 Euros to kick-start our tour, which will use to do the following;

#	Description	Rands	Dollars	Euros
1	Top up money to buy 4 x 4 off-road x 2 Cars	R96,000.00	$6,857.14	€6,000.00
2	Food n Beverage Provisions For The Expedition	R84,000.00	$6,000.00	€5,250.00
3	Outdoor camping materials	R80,000.00	$5,714.29	€5,000.00
4	Memorabilia	R60,000.00	$4,285.71	€3,750.00
5	Acquire 10 x Backup Bicycles	R32,000.00	$2,285.71	€2,000.00
6	Purchase Bicycle Spares & Parts	R32,000.00	$2,285.71	€2,000.00
7	Travel, Logistics & Fuel	R16,000.00	$1,142.86	€1,000.00
8	Awareness & Campaign ads	R16,000.00	$1,142.86	€1,000.00
9	Online, web Design, Hosting & Administration	R16,000.00	$1,142.86	€1,000.00
10	Purchase 3 x Camcorders for video journals	R16,000.00	$1,142.86	€1,000.00
11	3 Drone Video Cameras	R14,000.00	$1,000.00	€875.00
12	Medical Aid Kits	R12,000.00	$857.14	€750.00
13	Consultations	R12,000.00	$857.14	€750.00
14	Communication	R12,000.00	$857.14	€750.00
15	Permits & License	R12,000.00	$857.14	€750.00
	Total Preparatory Money Needed	R510,000.00	$36,428.57	€31,875.00

Though the above targeted money is may not be reached in specified time and our ultimate goal is larger than what we want to do, we are willing to have the whatever funds be held by your organization for a further 6months while we explore other difficult avenues of funding like, Shopping Mall Funding within Johannesburg and Corporate funding. We will use what you are withholding to strengthen our case as we approach other various forms of funding. We are exploring an options of maybe scaling down the project to maybe 4 or 5 Countries to streamline the voyage. There are over 370 Companies worldwide that manufacture Bicycles and we may engage with some of for donor ship or sponsorship of 5 or 10 backup bikes + bike equipment, parts, spares, accessories etc. in exchange of leg ads sponsorship and save on the cost of the backup bikes. We may even request them to send us their pamphlets, flyers, banners, promo materials then we save on Ads & Awareness Costs

Picture 8 Everyone Is Into Cycling

Current Preparatory Work. From July we have been gathering and preparing all the relevant resources we may need to make this journey a success. We have been doing the following;

1. Identified an entity that can do memorabilia only left with payment.
2. How to get interested International donors from abroad to donate online.
3. Busy Engaging with media companies from various countries to do awareness press conference.
4. Designed our Website, Online Profile and our twitter handle blog only left with launching the website.
5. Finalizing the logistics of bringing the team together in terms of Passport validity and Visas Applications.
6. We have drawn up our itinerary for the voyage and mapped out the cities and towns we will cycle through.
7. Look for icons and celebrities interested in endorsing the concept and willing to cycle with us on each leg.
8. Figuring out how to set up and do presentation on cycling Conference, Workshops, Convention and Forums.
9. Identified targeted organization for funding and Drawn up sponsorship and donor ship letters to these entities.
10. Sequence and Criteria of how donations will be channeled to us and conducted both cash and online donations.
11. Identify Global Bicycle Manufacturers and Bicycle Shops dealing in Bicycles Spares and Parts to join us as promoters.
12. Busy with promotional videos that we launch online with hope that they will go viral + setup of YouTube/Vimeo channel.
13. Selection of NGOs, Medical RnDs and types of education bursaries we intend to support through the 50% we will give away.
14. Identifying enthusiastic cyclists and cycling clubs from SADC countries to making them aware of our intentions and invite them.
15. Early design stages of actual cycling routes for the annual competition i.e. city circuits like Monaco F1 or Marathon & expeditions.

Picture 9 Typical Bicycles For such An Event

In closing;; We don’t know how much we will raise, we don’t know the types of encounters we will face and we don’t know the outcomes of this expedition but we feel this is one of the many ways we are advocating for something we passionately like and spread the love of cycling. We are kindly requesting for your generosity to make this ideal concept become a reality by contributing any amount you can, will do just fine. If you have Euros i.e. €1; €2; €5; €10; €20; €50; or €100 and if you have US Dollars i.e. 1$; $2; $5; $10; $20; $50 or $100 we welcome any amount you will back us up with. Please support our cause and be part of the greatest cycling events there will ever be in Southern Africa. We are confident that this can become a reality. We have a vision and we want to make it a reality, we are imagining how cycling will become one of the popular sports by pulling local crowds on the street sides. We also want to structure the events by combining this in a formula 1 and soccer format. Once we get the inaugural event of the ground we are confident that a lot of people will want to both support and participate one way or the other. Making the cycling tradition be part of daily lives. To all the donors and contributors, we are pledging for your kindness to assist us to make this a reality.